


The Cost Of Love

by Bohemian_seahorse



Category: Rent (2005), Rent - Larson
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, F/F, Hurt No Comfort, I was inspired by a line from a song, Prompt Fic, Short, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29694249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bohemian_seahorse/pseuds/Bohemian_seahorse
Summary: No one could understand why Maureen had chosen Joanne. They figured that maybe the diva had finally settled down, moved in with the first person she could. But it was one of life’s mysteries: what was it about Joanne that made Maureen decide to commit?What they didn’t know was what it took for Joanne to get Maureen’s attention.
Relationships: Joanne Jefferson/Maureen Johnson
Kudos: 1





	The Cost Of Love

**Author's Note:**

> so this was literally just a short fic i was inspired to write after listening to take me or leave me

_**“You are the one I choose, folks would kill to fill your shoes.”** _

No one could understand why Maureen had chosen Joanne. They figured that maybe the diva had finally settled down, moved in with the first person she could. But it was one of life’s mysteries: what was it about Joanne that made Maureen decide to commit? 

What they didn’t know was what it took for Joanne to get Maureen’s attention. 

Maureen Johnson; performer, professional drama queen, dating someone new each week. 

Joanne Jefferson; lawyer, control freak, paranoid, smart and sensible. 

What they didn’t know was what it took for Joanne to stay with Maureen. 

There was a queue. A waiting list. And to get to the front of the Maureen line, you had to remove all other competition. You had to make sure there was no one else there to distract her. 

These were Maureen’s rules. Survival of the fittest. Only the most dedicated would go through with it, only the ones that truly loved her. It was her way of sifting out the weaklings, making sure that the person who ended up with her was the right one. 

So, when Mimi asked Joanne over a glass of wine how the hell she’d managed to win Maureen over, the answer was far more complicated than the drunk girl could ever have dreamed. 

See, Joanne had been given a weapon when she signed up and put her name on the list. She’d been given a dagger and told that if she wanted Maureen, she’d fight for her. She’d kill for her. 

It had been a matter of wiping out the other competitors. Moral compass was easily forgotten when you were under Maureen’s spell. Killing became second nature. These people you stabbed weren’t lives lost, they were just obstacles. 

At least, that’s what Joanne had told herself. It was the only way to stay sane. 

And of course, once she’d got Maureen, there was still the small matter of keeping her. 

When Angel asked Joanne how she was able to stop Maureen from eyeing up other people, the answer was much darker than she could’ve imagined. 

People were constantly trying to knock her out. There was a horde of them trying to steal her girlfriend, all playing by Maureen’s rules. They wanted to get Joanne off the throne, out the bed, out of Maureen’s arms. 

Maureen was just the prize in some twisted game. The princess in the tower. And Joanne was the villain now, constantly at threat of being assassinated. 

It was a terrifying life. But one that Joanne would say was worth it. She’d got to spend several months already with Maureen, and it really did feel as if the other woman loved her. Or maybe that was just part of what she’d won - as soon as Joanne was replaced, Maureen would be loving the next person exactly the same. 

Joanne told herself that Maureen loved her. But at the end of the day, it was all just some great holiday she’d been given. And of course, it wouldn’t last forever. There were people trying to kill her, people who thought she’d already had far too long as the victor. 

No one would ever understand why Maureen had chosen Joanne. It was impossible to, really. No one would believe it if they were told that Maureen was some psychopath who made her suitors fight to the death to win her hand. 

When Joanne’s friends congratulated her on reining in the free spirit of Maureen Johnson, on finally getting her to calm down, she just laughed. What else could she say? That she’d had to become a serial killer to earn these few months of sweet love? 

She watched her friends fall in love with each other and she grew bitter. Why was it so easy for them? Why didn’t they have to pay the prices she did? Why was she the only one who had to face the cost of love? 

Why had she had to fall in love with Maureen? 

There were a lot of things that Joanne would never understand. But she decided that this was okay. She’d just have to live every moment with Maureen. Because soon enough, she’d wake up to a knife in her back. 

And then she’d sleep forever. 

Because the race to claim Maureen grew more frantic every day. And Joanne had been champion for longer than was fair. People would do whatever it took to be in her shoes. And they were getting angrier by the day. 

So Joanne laughs at her friends’ jokes, lets them compliment her, bounces back comments on how cute their new relationships are. Because she knows she’s running out of time and that when she’s gone, Maureen won’t spare her a thought.


End file.
